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Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims

nytimes.com

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Re: Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims

#2

Post by rectang »

Ending forced arbitration was number one on Susan Fowler's list of "Five Things Tech Companies Can Do Better":

https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/5/20/five-things-tech...

    1. End Forced Arbitration

    This is the single most important thing
    a company can do to prove to its employees
    that it is dedicated to acting ethically,
    legally, responsibly, and transparently.
Microsoft's change of policy makes sense when you consider that NDA's are losing their effectiveness in cases of sexual abuse:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-misconduct-agreements...

    Some states already have laws restricting
    confidentiality agreements that conceal "public
    hazards," such as product defects or environmental
    contamination.

    The same reasoning could potentially be used to
    invalidate non-disclosure agreements covering
    allegations of sexual misconduct, lawyers say,
    on the theory that some harassers could pose danger
    to others if their conduct is not revealed.

Re: Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims

#3

Post by da_chicken »

rectang wrote: post #2

Ending forced arbitration was number one on Susan Fowler's list of "Five Things Tech Companies Can Do Better": https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/5/20/five-things-tech... 1. End Forced Arbitration This is the single most important thing a company can do to prove to its employees that it is dedicated to acting ethically, legally, responsibly, and transparently. Microsoft's change of policy makes sense when you con…

Your links are both broken.

Re: Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims

#4

Post by rectang »

da_chicken wrote: post #3
rectang wrote: post #2

Ending forced arbitration was number one on Susan Fowler's list of "Five Things Tech Companies Can Do Better": https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/5/20/five-things-tech... 1. End Forced Arbitration This is the single most important thing a company can do to prove to its employees that it is dedicated to acting ethically, legally, responsibly, and transparently. Microsoft's change of policy makes sense when you con…

Your links are both broken.

Thanks, fixed!

Re: Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims

#5

Post by walshemj »

Good but only up to a point it will just mean better compromise agreements and more $$ for lawyers.

Most people with these sort of harassment cases will prefer to settle out of court as the process can be brutal - only very brave and often wealthy people will do this.

This is from direct experience as I have counselled people in cases of bullying.

Re: Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims

#7

Post by wildmusings »

rectang wrote: post #2

Ending forced arbitration was number one on Susan Fowler's list of "Five Things Tech Companies Can Do Better": https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/5/20/five-things-tech... 1. End Forced Arbitration This is the single most important thing a company can do to prove to its employees that it is dedicated to acting ethically, legally, responsibly, and transparently. Microsoft's change of policy makes sense when you con…

Binding arbitration and confidentiality agreements are two totally different things, that seem to be getting conflated here. There is a defensible argument for not allowing mandatory binding arbitration for certain things.

But eliminating the ability of parties to agree to a confidential settlement is a huge mistake.

It will result in victims getting less money. An allegation of harassment, without further evidence, is not going to fare well in court. Yet the accused might be willing to pay a settlement to put the matter to rest and avoid negative publicity. By prohibiting them from getting confidentiality in exchange for payment, you have removed their largest incentive to pay the accuser. Further, a publicized settlement will be taken as an admission of guilt, which is a further incentive to go to court.

And those accused, who may be innocent, are protected as well. They can avoid having their name smeared in the media, where they stand no chance of getting a fair hearing in the current climate.

Re: Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims

#9

Post by gpm »

wildmusings wrote: post #7
rectang wrote: post #2

Ending forced arbitration was number one on Susan Fowler's list of "Five Things Tech Companies Can Do Better": https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/5/20/five-things-tech... 1. End Forced Arbitration This is the single most important thing a company can do to prove to its employees that it is dedicated to acting ethically, legally, responsibly, and transparently. Microsoft's change of policy makes sense when you con…

Binding arbitration and confidentiality agreements are two totally different things, that seem to be getting conflated here. There is a defensible argument for not allowing mandatory binding arbitration for certain things. But eliminating the ability of parties to agree to a confidential settlement is a huge mistake. It will result in victims getting less money. An allegation of harassment, without further evidence,…

Accusers getting more money isn't good for the public. Incentive to settle without a fair trial in something as serious as sexual assault is not only not good for the public, it's bad for the public. Due process exists for a damn good reason.

Preventing sexual assaults is good for the public, publicizing cases of sexual assaults may well have a tendency to do that.

Based on your arguments above, I would come to the conclusion that NDAs on this should be banned. But I haven't thought enough about the topic to conclude that there aren't successful counter arguments.

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